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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189103">That Spring In Paris</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolf_Keryon7/pseuds/Wolf_Keryon7'>Wolf_Keryon7</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Bella is Smol, Bellamione Cult's May Event 2020, Compared to Hermione at least, Discord: Bellamione Cult, Exploration of Paris, F/F, Handholding, Implied/Referenced Fatal Illness, Not A Happy Ending, Springtime in Paris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:27:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,229</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolf_Keryon7/pseuds/Wolf_Keryon7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione meets Bellatrix at a flower stall in Paris. Well, more like Bellatrix literally stumbles onto her. </p>
<p>"Our bliss was as the spring, a fleeting phase, <br/>And brief’s the beauty of young lovers craze."<br/>- I dreamed a butterfly by Andrea Dietrich</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Bellatrix Black Lestrange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>That Spring In Paris</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When her mother had first suggested she spend two weeks in April visiting her Grandparents, Hermione had laughed.</p>
<p>Her Grandparents had never particularly cared for her, just as they had never particularly cared for her mother, and the idea of spending two whole weeks in Paris was made to sound incredibly unappealing when coupled with the fact that she would likely end up restricted to her room.</p>
<p>But her mum had looked at her with sad eyes, and basically begged her to go and spend this time with them, and Hermione had found herself unable to say no.</p>
<p>She had to admit, she was glad she’d agreed now. Not because her Grandparents had had a change of heart and suddenly started treating her any differently, but because they had elected that she should in fact spend as much time out of the house as possible, so as to not get under foot.</p>
<p>This meant she was free to explore Paris, for two whole weeks, the only downside being between the hours of 11PM and 6AM her Grandmother had demanded she be within the bounds of the property.</p>
<p>There was almost definitely a way around that, Hermione was sure, she would just have to think of how exactly to manage it. </p>
<p>If it did come down to it, she was sure she could simply book a hotel room, her savings ought to last her long enough for that, and she did have access to her inheritance now, regardless of how cautious she was to use it.</p>
<p>In the meantime though, she was determined to experience as much of this beautiful city as possible. Today, that meant wandering around and exploring, there would be time later to get lost in museums and fall prey to tourists traps, but for now all Hermione wanted was to get her bearings and find somewhere for lunch.</p>
<p>She found herself in front of the Marché aux Fleurs, unable to resist the sight of so many beautiful plants, and the hum of conversation. </p>
<p>She doubted she’d ever seen such a vast collection of flowers, shrubs and plants. It was overwhelming in it’s simple beauty, and every vendor was incredibly friendly, happy to talk to her about anything she could think to ask.</p>
<p>A lovely older gentleman called Thierry had directed her toward a stall a little ways away from his own when she’d asked if he knew where she could find lilies, telling her to ask for Estelle and mention he’d sent her, before winking and going back to repotting a Snowy Mespilus that looked a little too big for a pot at all.</p>
<p>And now she stood, chatting to Estelle, who happened to be a lovely lady with a passion for unusual and rare flowers, about the proper care of Fire Lilies. They were her mum’s favourites, so Hermione had decided to buy a few to take back to England with her when she left.</p>
<p>The older woman had just disappeared into the back of her little greenhouse, leaving Hermione outside to admire her collection, when she felt another body collide roughly with hers, nearly sending them both to the floor if not for her quick reflexes.</p>
<p>She found herself stretched awkwardly and slightly twisted, one arm wrapped around the waist of the person who had tumbled into her, the other clutching one of the poles that anchored the stall in an effort to keep them both up.</p>
<p>Hermione opened her mouth, a scathing comment about people needing to watch where they were going on the tip of her tongue, but it never made it past her lips as eyes so dark they were nearly black locked onto hers.</p>
<p>A shiver ripped down her spine and the breath in her lungs froze,  Hermione didn’t think she’d ever seen someone so captivating as the young woman she now held securely to her side. Gloriously full, curled hair, black as oil and wild about her face, high cheekbones and smooth alabaster skin, the most adorable upturned nose and plush pouty lips, which were currently pressed into what might have been an apologetic grimace.</p>
<p>“Oh! I-uh… hi?” She bit her tongue and mentally facepalmed at her stuttering, feeling a blush creep up her neck and into her cheeks at the way the young woman's mouth curled into a smirk, surely nothing could be more embarrassing than this.</p>
<p>“Hi, you can let go of me now.” Her voice was smooth and kind of deep, a little raspy around the edges and lilted in amusement and Hermione cursed at herself and the universe for proving her wrong as she scrambled to adjust them into a more appropriate standing position and release the stranger she’d been holding captive.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry!”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it,” the chuckle that escaped her was just as beautiful as her voice, maybe more so, a little harsh, and a little rough, but somehow perfect in its imperfection, “thank you for saving me, I apologise for walking into you, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”</p>
<p>She spoke in a very proper way, her words slightly stiff and forcefully eloquent, as though she had spent many hours practising in order to sound this way, or perhaps as though she wished not to be so formal, but knew she must.</p>
<p>Hermione grinned, her cheeks still burning, and twisted her hands around themselves, “It’s alright, accidents happen I suppose. Are you okay?”</p>
<p>Dark eyes studied her, an onyx eyebrow raised and a smirk still curling her lips deviously, “I’m perfectly fine, thank you. And yourself, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”</p>
<p>“No, no. I’m good.” She shook her head quickly, biting her lip continuing to stare at the shorter woman, there was a strange tingling feeling running up her spine, and her ears rang sharply in the most unexpected moment of tinnitus.</p>
<p>They stood in semi-tense silence for a few moments, each still taking the other in slowly, the market bustling around them going unnoticed. It was the other woman who broke their stare off, blinking slowly like she was waking up and rolling her shoulders before holding out her hand.</p>
<p>“My name’s Bellatrix, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?” </p>
<p>Hermione glanced at her hand, bemused at the formality, “Hermione, it’s lovely to meet you Bellatrix.” she slipped her hand into the pale one held out to her, shocked when Bellatrix immediately changed the hand she held out and instead of the firm grip she was expecting she instead found her fingers lightly held as Bellatrix raised her hand to her face and brushed full red lips over her knuckles.</p>
<p>Her cheeks flared with heat again, and Hermione decided she’d take the secret of the gasp that escaped her at the gesture to her grave. She swallowed nervously when dark eyes once again met hers, noticing belatedly that her fingers were still held in the gentle grip of Bellatrix’s.</p>
<p>“Hermione,” she doubted she’d ever heard her name said in such a manner, as though it were something precious, as though it were water to a woman dying of thirst, “That’s a beautiful name. Your parents were fans of Shakespeare?”</p>
<p>“Yes, actually,” shock coloured her voice, no one had drawn that connection before, typically people would only comment on its uniqueness, “And yours astronomy buffs?”</p>
<p>Bellatrix let out that delicious chuckle again, raking the hand not still holding Hermione’s through her hair, “My whole family, if you’d believe it. It’s only my dear youngest sister, Narcissa, who seems to have escaped the burden of a star themed name.”</p>
<p>“I’d hardly call it a burden. Bellatrix means warrior, right? An apt name for someone who looks like a greek goddess…” the blush that had coloured her cheeks drained away, Hermione’s face turning a deathly pale colour as she raged at her own existence, her eyes slipping shut and her free hand curling into the sleeve of her hoodie.</p>
<p>She waited for the laugh, or the scoff, or anything really to happen, but when Bellatrix’s only reaction was to tighten her hold on Hermione’s hand she opened her eyes slowly, glancing from beneath her eyelashes at a sight more shocking than the words she’d meant to keep internal.</p>
<p>A dark crimson painted across the high cheekbones she’d so recently admired, Bellatrix staring at her openly in surprise, bottom lip caught between sharp white teeth.</p>
<p>Silence enveloped them again, neither seemingly knowing how to proceed in light of Hermione’s words. Eventually, it had gone on long enough, both of them glancing at the other shyly, that Hermione thought ‘fuck it’ and decided fake confidence would have to do for now.</p>
<p>“Would you like to get lunch with me?”</p>
<p>The words were out before she’d fully thought them through, and though her tongue now felt heavy and awkward in her mouth, she’d managed not to stutter once in her question. Dark eyes burned against her, and she was one more moment of tense silence away from taking them back and running out of the market without looking back.</p>
<p>Her mouth opened, an apology on the tip of her tongue, but Bellatrix beat her to it, “I’d love to.”</p>
<p>A smile replaced the smirk that had seemed permanently affixed to her lips, and the brunette amended a stray thought she’d had earlier, this Bellatrix, with red still in her cheeks and her expression soft and open, was a thousand times more captivating than anything or anyone Hermione had previously seen. </p>
<p>It was to the sight of them smiling softly at each other that Estelle reappeared from the back of her stall to, arms full of Fire Lilies and a little book about the proper care of them. </p>
<p>A knowingly glint entered her eyes at the way Hermione looked away from the other woman, but she kept her silence, grinning at the girl as she purchased several of the flowers and winking as she slipped a single daffodil into the bag, glancing toward Bellatrix and back to Hermione in time to see the girl blush, their previous conversation letting Estelle know that Hermione was well versed in the meanings of flowers.</p>
<p>And the daffodil just so happened to symbolise new beginnings.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Bellatrix took them to a small café a few minutes away from the market, they hadn’t talked much on the walk there, but Bellatrix had maintained her hold of Hermione’s hand, and even offered to carry the bag that held all of her plants, much to Hermione’s amusement as she informed the shorter girl that she could manage, even if she wasn’t a ‘Greek Goddess’.</p>
<p>The raveonette was still reeling slightly from the compliment bestowed to her from what had to be one of the most gorgeous women she’d ever laid eyes upon. </p>
<p>With her slightly frizzy chestnut hair, smooth tan skin, full bow lips and scattered freckles, Hermione was certainly not an unattractive woman, but it was her eyes, large and wise and a maddening mix of dark browns, hazel and flecks of green that had held Bellatrix’s attention to ransom.</p>
<p>She didn’t think she’d ever seen such expressive eyes on someone so young, for Hermione couldn’t be any older than she was. And the confidence with which she carried herself was enthralling.</p>
<p>Her ‘Greek Goddess’ comment had clearly been a slip up, the panic that had grabbed her features so all-encompassing that there was no way it could have been construed as purposeful, but the way she’d shook herself after the fact, stealing her spine and tightening her jaw, before asking Bellatrix to lunch as though it were the easiest thing in the world!</p>
<p>And perhaps it had been, it had seemed so effortless and natural that Hermione would ask, Bellatrix had found herself entirely unable to say no to this woman, who was practically a stranger.</p>
<p>Her hand hadn’t stopped sparking with electric currents since she’d taken the brunette’s, and no matter how many times she reminded herself that she needed to release her, it had proved to be an impossible task.</p>
<p>They sat quickly at one of the small tables outside, Bellatrix fighting the urge to fidget as Hermione studied her across its surface, “So, have you been here before?”</p>
<p>The taller woman raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a cheeky smile, “This café, this city, this country?” and Bellatrix struggled for a moment to come up with a response, Hermione laughing lightly, the sound soft and happy and Bellatrix thought in that instant that she could listen to it forever, “The answer is no, to all of the above. This is my second day of ever being outside of Britain. What about you?”</p>
<p>“This café, this city, this country?” She smirked when Hermione stuck her tongue out at her, enjoying the air of ease that seemed to surround the brunette, “Yes, I’ve been here many times before, this is one of my favourite café’s in Paris, they have the best Religieuse in the city here.”</p>
<p>A waiter appeared at that moment, greeting them both in rapid french and handing them menus, and Bellatrix turned away from him under the impression that she would need to translate for Hermione, only to be pleasantly surprised when the taller woman replied in equally rapid, fluent french.</p>
<p>It seemed this woman she had literally stumbled upon would turn out to be the most interesting thing about her trip to Paris. The waiter left with the assurance that he would be back shortly, and Hermione turned back to Bellatrix, blinking in confusion at the open curiosity on her face. </p>
<p>“You know french.” It was perhaps the least eloquent thing she’d said since meeting her, but Bellatrix didn’t have the patience nor care to keep up pretenses, especially when it seemed to be largely lost on Hermione anyway.</p>
<p>“I do. I’ve never been here before, but my mum was born and raised here, and she raised me bilingual. Something about not losing sight of where we come from.” </p>
<p>Bellatrix nodded, her family preached similar views so she could understand the sentiment, even if she sometimes found it pedantic and tedious. </p>
<p>The waiter reappeared a short while later, and Hermione watched as Bellatrix spoke to him in french just as fluent as hers, but with the same strange formal structure she seemed to use when speaking english.</p>
<p>“What?” Hermione’s eyes had burned into her the whole time she’d been ordering their food, and Bellatrix wasn’t an insecure person, but something about the way the taller woman seemed to analyse everything she did made her slightly nervous. She wasn’t sure yet if it was a good thing.</p>
<p>“Nothing, you’re just beautiful.” </p>
<p>Brown eyes blew wide and Hermione once again looked as though she hadn’t meant to give voice to that thought, but Bellatrix smirked and hummed, bringing a hand up to trace along the curve of a strong jaw, “I could say the same of you.”</p>
<p>She reveled in the blush that covered the brunette’s face, enjoying the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks and her lips parted in surprise. It occurred to Bellatrix that Hermione perhaps wasn’t used to being complimented, and she made a mental note in that moment to tell the brunette as often as possible that she was absolutely breath-taking.</p>
<p>Their food arrived much more quickly than Bellatrix had anticipated, and she found that after all this time, she would now have to release Hermione’s hand. The thought sent the most bizarre rush of panic through her, and Hermione must have noticed because she squeezed her finger and sent her a calming smile.</p>
<p>“I’m left handed, you don’t have to let go.” She punctuated the statement with a wink, but Bellatrix could see the genuine affection behind her eyes, and as confusing as it was, she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to keep contact, so she replied with her own relieved smile and turned most of her attention toward her food. </p>
<p>They ate in comfortable silence, occasionally pausing in their meals to ask the other a simple question, or comment on the quality of the food, but otherwise content to simply occupy the same space.</p>
<p>It was incredibly odd, and Bellatrix didn’t know how to verbalise the fact that she was undeniably more comfortable in Hermione’s presence than possibly anyone else she knew. Even with her sisters, there was a sense of needing to set a good example, a responsibility to care and look out for them, and thus a disconnect in her ability to interact with them without thought.</p>
<p>But this woman, who she had met by pure chance barely an hour ago, resonated with her on a level she had previously thought entirely her own. It was startling and refreshing in equal measure, and it terrified Bellatrix just how eager she was to never have to let go of this. To never have to let go of her.</p>
<p>She felt a tap against her shin, and glanced up in a slight daze, the fog of her thoughts difficult to shift and the sight that greeted her making clearing her head completely a fargone concept.</p>
<p>Soulful eyes gazed deeply into hers and Bellatrix felt her whole body buzz with an electric current that raced down her spine to spread across all of her extremities. It was like her very soul was reaching toward the brunette, and Bellatrix found herself only too happy to follow its lead in this matter.</p>
<p>“Something on your mind, Bellatrix?”</p>
<p>A hum escaped her, her fingers mindlessly tapping a melody against Hermione’s knuckles. She sighed, dropping her fork and pushing her plate away to place her elbow on the table and lean her head in her hand.</p>
<p>The act would send her mother into a raging fit, but there was no mother here, and she was free to do such things in the presence of this woman who should be a stranger, but felt familiar.</p>
<p>“Tell me about yourself?”</p>
<p>And so Hermione did. She told the shorter woman about living in a village in the south of England called Cranleigh, about being raised by her mother, though she didn’t tell Bellatrix where her father had been. </p>
<p>She told her about her adventures in secondary school, and how she thought she really ‘found herself’ in college. She talked about the skip year she’d taken when she’d finished college, and how that had turned into two while she tried to figure out what to do with her life.</p>
<p>And Bellatrix listened intently, and enjoyed and mentally recorded everything Hermione shared, but she noticed quickly that while Hermione had managed to talk for nearly twenty minutes, she hadn’t actually spoken much about herself.</p>
<p>So when she came to the end of a tale about a young boy called Tom literally falling into a well, and having to be rescued by the fire service, of which she had been a volunteer with that summer, that had admittedly had Bellatrix in stitches, she waved her hand indicating she needed to say something.</p>
<p>“I could listen to you all day,” a blush coated Hermione’s cheeks at the words, and Bellatrix paused long enough that the other woman looked up in question, and when they’d established eye contact again, she continued, “but you haven’t told me much about you. What makes you tick, Hermione? What’s your favourite thing to do when it’s raining? How do you take your tea, and what biscuits do you want with it? The important things, you know?”</p>
<p>“Oh,” the way she suddenly became incredibly reserved and quiet had Bellatrix panicking that she’d said the wrong thing, but the way the sides of her eyes crinkled with her smile as it stretched across her face quelled those thoughts quickly, “well, I like to read, I’m a bit of a bookworm admittedly, so I’m usually doing that if I have a free moment. I actually like to stand out in storms, it frustrates my mum to no end, but I’ve always loved it, I find them calming…”</p>
<p>And this time as Hermione talked, Bellatrix would ask follow up questions, or add anecdotes from her own life, or change the topic entirely just to hear Hermione’s thoughts on something different. </p>
<p>It was so incredibly odd, how drawn to her Bellatrix was, how incapable she was of tearing her attention away from her. </p>
<p>Hermione didn’t allow the space to only be filled with Bellatrix’s questions however, she asked the shorter woman just as many things, and learned a great deal too.</p>
<p>She learned that Bellatrix had a large family, but she didn’t care for most of them, citing them to be arrogant and selfish and ‘stuck in their ways so hard they may well be gargoyles’, but she had two younger sisters she would go to hell and back for. She learned that Bellatrix despised tea, but was something of a coffee connoisseur, that she too was a bookworm, had an incredible sweet tooth and wanted more than anything to be an artist.</p>
<p>Hermione learned that Bellatrix may well just be the most interesting thing that would come out of her trip to Paris. She learned that her whole being ached with the need to know this other woman, even as she felt an undeniable familiarity between them. She learned that she never wanted to be let go.</p>
<p>It was startling, how two people could be unpredictably in the same place at the same time in such a way that allowed fate to draw them together perfectly, but both women marvelled at the happenstance and thanked the universe for allowing it.</p>
<p>Sometime later the waiter circled back to their table, leaving the bill and taking their plates. Bellatrix had snatched the piece of paper off the table quicker than Hermione had had chance to glance at it, folding it neatly and tucking it into one of her pockets, smirking at the frown tugging at the corners of Hermione's mouth.</p>
<p>“This is my treat. You can pay next time.”</p>
<p>“So, you assume there will be a next time?” Hermione tried to hold a skeptical look, but failed miserably when the corners of her lips kept twitching up with the need to smile. Even while being snarky, even though they were still together and neither had made mention of leaving, she couldn’t hide her delight at the idea of seeing Bellatrix like this again. </p>
<p>“Of course there will be a next time. Surely you’re going to need a tour guide if you wish to experience the city of Paris to the fullest! And I believe we just established that you’re going to be paying for lunch.”</p>
<p>The grin on Bellatrix’s face was far too smug, but Hermione found herself powerless to do anything but grin back, tightening her hold on the hand in hers as they stood so Bellatrix could pay the bill.</p>
<p>Bellatrix had barely finished signing her name, the loops and curls of her sprawling signature as beautiful as they were a touch over-dramatic, when her phone rang, it’s blaring chime ringing out into the peaceful silence between and making more than one person in the vicinity wince.</p>
<p>She glanced at Hermione apologetically, slipping the phone from one of her pockets and raising it to her ear. The conversation that followed was short and incredibly one sided, in fact, Hermione would be hard pressed to remember Bellatrix saying anything more than a solitary ‘yes’.</p>
<p>It was obvious, however, that whatever had been ‘discussed’ on the phone spelled the end of their time together, so Hermione reached into the bag hanging from her shoulder to curl her fingers around the lone daffodil it held, pulling it carefully free.</p>
<p>The shorter woman pushed her phone back into her pocket with a long sigh, running her hand through her hair and drawing it over her face as she glared into the sky. Obviously the universe had decided she was having too much on this trip, and had elected to put an end to it.</p>
<p>She turned to Hermione with an apology on her lips, but stopped short at the understanding look she was sending her, heart fluttering strangely in her chest.</p>
<p>“You’re needed elsewhere, it’s okay, thank you for today, it’s the most fun I’ve had in awhile.”</p>
<p>Bellatrix smiled softly at her, squeezing her fingers, “Me too, actually.” blushing when Hermione offered her the flower she was holding, and taking it reverently, before starting suddenly and passing it back to her, rummaging around in her pockets for a moment before finding what she was looking for.</p>
<p>She tucked a sleek Black business card into Hermione’s pocket, blushing harder at the look the taller woman sent her, and taking the daffodil back, “It’s convenient.” </p>
<p>Hermione just laughed lightly and shook her head, leaning in swiftly to plant a kiss on a crimson cheek, “I’ll see you soon, Bellatrix.”</p>
<p>Bellatrix smirked, and though she was loathe to do it, released the hand she’d held captive for the last few hours, her hand feeling suddenly cold and empty without the other womans in it, before waggling her fingers at her and turning away, setting off at a brisk pace away from the woman who sure to occupy her thoughts long after she was far from her presence.</p>
<p>Suddenly, these two weeks in Paris were looking a hell of a lot better to Hermione, and she mentally thanked her mum for convincing her to come.</p>
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